Floor construction



Dec. 4, 1934. J G SHRYQCK 1,983,410

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 19, 1952 IIIIII V G Z rgzgwqwr @VIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WVENTU/F/ TyUC/ I l atented Dec. 4, 1934 r;

- as STATES 1,983,4lil

PATENT OFFICE Claims.

My invention relates to flooring, and more par-- ticularly to the type of flooring adapted for use primarily in the construction of bridges and commercial buildings, although it maybe readily 5 used for other purposes and, in part, is a continuation of .my co-pending application Serial No. 554,531, .filedAug. 1, 1931;.ior which Letters Patent 1,933,394 were issued October 31, 1.933.

An-object of my present invention is to provide r a flooring which is not only exceedingly light but,

at the same time, has great strength relative to its weight. l

A further object 'of my invention is to provide -.a metallic flooring, the upper surface of which is covered with a substantially .air and waterstight covering capable oi maintaimng its shape and original smooth surface under heavy and :continual traffic loads.

A fur-therobject of my invention :is to provide a flooring having the combinedieatures of a strong and, as compared to its strength, relatively light sub-flooring, with a covering maybe readily taken up :and replaced at vnecessary or desired positions and which after a few hours :of traffic 'usewill be indistinguishable from the portions which have not been repaired.

A further object of my invention is to provide *a novel flooring which includes substantially rigid and strong sub-flooring which may be :brought to the job in partially assembled condition, and

- no \ciplesof myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a :portion of such flooring.

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view illustrating 'a slightly modified construction within the scope of my invention, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary sectional views illustrating details of my invention. My invention comprises the use of a metallic sub-flooring structure such as that described in my pending application zabove referred to, the

preferred form of which, illustrated in Fig. l of the accompanying drawing, comprises a pin- ;-rality of light :or junior channel members =5; :adjacent channel members being arranged with their flanges .5 in reversed meeting position, with the edges of :suchadiacentilanges in contact with the web portions 5 of adi'acent channels. These channel members may be suitably connected together :as here shown, by rivets .6, or bolts '7, passing through the abutting flanges, orssuc'h flanges may :be welded together in the manner .set forth in :my pend-ing application. With the channel members arranged as thus described, a rigid subfloor strnclmre may be developed, consisting of channels alternately reversed :position torming :a-sub-flooring havin'g a series of troughs or channel portions between which are, preferably, webs of substantially the .same width as the width of such channel pontions. This sub-flooring structure may be carried in any suitable manner, as by the beams 8, illustrated herein.

While, obviously, various types of trafiic-bearing coverings may be applied to this sub-flooring,

as pointed out my pending application, I have conceived the idea of applying "to such :sub-fioor- 175 ing, :a material lkllIOWIl as asphalt bridge :plank, :and employing this material ina novel andhighly advantageous manner. This trafiic-bearing suriace is well known to those skilled in the art, and comprises "preiormedmem'bers which I will herein- 30 after refer to asboards' composed primarily of fibrous material, which may include asbestos fibre, \With a binder of an :asphaltic material of such type asto hold the fibrous material in predetermined shape to which it is formed under high 35 pre'ssura while at the some time providing a certain amount of resilience :due to the elastic qualities of the respective materials.

To form the trafiic-bearing surface of my improved flooring, I position :boardsS) within-each of the trough or channel portions of the metal subfi'ooring :so that they *will dorm, with the web por- "tions 5 of the inverted [channel members 5, a substantially level surface. These boards '9 are of such size relatively to the channel members 5 :as to till the space the same so that no movement of these boards can take place transversely nor the channels in which they are placed. in otherwords, the boards are of suchsize that they form a tight fit between the flanges 5 of the :channel members 5/ Provision maybe made to prevent movement of, the boards 9 longitudinally .of the channelssby the formation of projections .5 in the web'of the channel members receiving the rsame,.-whi'c'h protections may :be of any suitable shape and may be ifor-med either as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4?.by pressing up a .portion'o'f the web 5 or by welding'sasmallwpiece of metal .to the web, as illustrated infig. 5. :Suitable notches or .recesses may Ebe nut in the boards 59 at necessary intervals to fit about or over the projections 5, and these notches or recesses preferably form a tight fit with the projections to prevent movement of the boards longitudinally of the channels.

I have found in practice that the provision of projections on the webs of the channel members fitting recesses in the boards is not essential if bolts or rivets having heads of suflicient size are used to connect the channel members, since notches may be cut in the sides of the boards 9, to fit closely over the heads of the bolts or rivets, and thus the heads of the bolts or rivets may take the place of projections 5 to prevent longitudinal movement of the boards.

Prior to positioning the boards 9 in place they and/or the channel members 5 may be coated with a suitable non-oxidizing cementitious material indicated at a, which not only aids in tying the boards to the channel members but also serves as an air and water-tight coating and crack filler to maintain the upper surface of the channel members forming the sub-flooring entirely out of contact with moisture and the atmosphere. This cementitious material may be of an asphaltic nature, such for example as an asphalt emulsion.

Over the substantially level surface which is prepared as above described I place another layer of boards 10, which may be of material similar to or identical with that of which the boards 9 are formed, and these boards 10 may be coated with cementitious material of the same character as that applied to the boards 9 so that they will adhere to the latter boardsand to the portions of the inverted channel members whereby the latter will be maintained out of contact with moisture and the atmosphere.

The boards 9 employed to fill the spaces between the flanges of the channel members and form a surface flush with the Webs of the reversely placed channel members to receive the tralficbearing surface comprisingtheboards 10, are ma terially thicker than the latter boards. In some instances it may be desirable to employ a plurality of the boards 9 to fill the channel spaces, and in Fig. 3 I have shown two layers of these boards, indicated at 9 Thinner boards are capable Of compression to a greater density, and with relatively deep channel portions or troughs a plurality of the filler boards are preferably employed. For

filling the channels and forming an even surface upon which the traflic-bearing surface may be applied ordinary timber blocks may be used in place of the composite material with satisfactory results.

By the provision of a flooring such as above described I attain a structure which not only has all of the weight bearing and other features obtainable with the use of the metallic sub-flooring described in my pending application, but also provides a means by which the use of the upper or traffic-bearing surface may be locked in place so that under traffic it will not spread or move.

.Such a traflic-bearing surface may be readily laid highly traveled highways, but is suitable for use in commercial buildings; warehouses and manufacturing establishments, and all places where it is desirable to use a floor of light Weight having a readily replaceable and heavy traffic-bearing surface.

Various modifications may be made in the above described embodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A floor construction comprising a plurality of longitudinally flanged metallic channel members each composed of a web and flanges normal to said web; said flanges having beveled inner faces and said channel members being arranged with their adjacent flanges in interconnected relation, alternate members being disposed in reversed relationship whereby adjacent flanges of said associated members are brought into direct meeting relationship with their beveled surfaces in contact to form an inherently stable structure composed of alternately inverted trough sections, means for securing said metallic channel members together in fixed position, composition boards filling the space between the flanges of alternate members and extending to the level of the inverted trough sections, and a covering forming a replaceable wear surface overlying said composition boards and the portions of the metallic members insurface alignment therewith.

2. A floor construction comprising a plurality of longitudinally flanged metallic channel members, each composed of a web and flanges normal to said web; said flanges having beveled inner faces and said channel members being arranged with their adjacent flanges in interconnected relation, alternate members being disposed in reversed relationship whereby adjacent flanges of said associated members are brought into direct meeting relationship with their beveled surfaces in contact to form an inherently stable structure composed of alternately inverted trough sections, means for securing said metallic channel members together in fixed position, composition boards filling the space between the flanges of alternate members and'extending to the level of the inverted trough sections, other preformed composition boards forming a replaceable wear surface overlying said first-mentioned boards, and cementitious material for'uniting said boards to said metallic members.

3. A floor construction comprisinga plurality of longitudinally flanged metallic channel members, each composed of a web and flanges normal to said web; said flanges having beveled inner faces and said channel members being arranged with their adjacent flanges in interconnected relation, alternate members being disposed in reversed relationship whereby adjacent flanges of said associated members are brought into direct meeting relationship with their beveled surfaces in contact to form an inherently stable structure composed of alternately inverted trough sections, means for securing said metallic channel members together in fixed position, meansfor supporting said channel members, composition boards filling the space between the flanges of alternate members and extending to the level of the inverted trough sections, other preformed composition boards forming a replaceable wear surface overlying said flrst-mentioned boards, and cementitious material for uniting said boards to each other and to said metallic members.

4. A floor construction comprising a plurality of longitudinally flanged metallic channel members, each composed of a web and flanges normal to said web; said flanges having beveled inner faces and said channel members being arranged with their adjacent flanges in interconnected relation, alternate members being disposed in reversed relationship whereby adjacent flanges of said associated members are brought into direct meeting relationship with their beveled surfaces in contact to form an inherently stable structure composed of alternately inverted trough sections, means for securing said metallic channel members together in fixed position, composition boards filling the space between the flanges of alternate members and extending to the level of the inverted trough sections, a covering forming a replaceable wear surface overlying said composition boards and the portions of the metallic channel members in surface alignment therewith, cementitious material for uniting said composition boards and covering material to each other and to the metallic members, and additional means for preventing movement of the composition boards longitudinally of the metallic channel members.

5. A floor construction comprising a plurality of longitudinally flanged metallic channel members, each composed of a web and flanges normal to said web; said flanges having beveled inner faces and said channel members being arranged with their adjacent flanges in interconnected relation, alternate members being disposed in reversed relationship whereby adjacent flanges of said associated members are brought into direct meeting relationship with their beveled surfaces in contact to form an inherently stable structure composed of alternately inverted trough sections, means for securing said metallic channel members together in fixed position, composition boards filling the space between the flanges of alternate members and extending to the level of the inverted trough sections, projections carried by the channel members underlying said composition boards; the latter having depressions or recesses into which said projections may fit, and a covering forming a replaceable wear surface overlying said composition boards and the portions of the metallic channel members in surface alignment therewith.

JOSEPH G. SHRYOCK. 

